Lemon Light

Lemon Light

Problem Scenario

Someone would want to learn about this because it seems out of this world that a single fruit has enough chemicals to create a reaction, powerful enough to light a LED light bulb.

Broad Question

Can I light a 1 watt light bulb with a single lemon?

Specific Question

Does the size of the lemon determine the amount of electrical output?

Hypothesis

It is hypothesized that the size of the lemon does control the amount of electrical output, therefore the bigger the lemon the more electricity will be produced.

Graph of Hypothesis

Variables

Independent Variable:

Size of Lemon

Dependent Variable:

Electrical Output

Variables That Need To Be Controlled:

Size of LED light, Length of Copper Wire, Overflow Cup, and Graduated Cylinder

Vocabulary List That Needs Explanation

LED= Light Emitting Diode
Multimeter= A multimeter or a multitester, also known as a VOM (Volt-Ohm meter), is an electronic measuring instrument that combines several measurement functions in one unit.
Amperes= The ampere, often shortened to amp, is the unit of electrical current
Cubic Centimeters= a commonly used unit of volume corresponds to the volume of a cube that measures 1 cm × 1 cm × 1 cm.
Electrode= An electrode is an electrical conductor used to make contact with a nonmetallic part of a circuit.
Electrolyte=A liquid or gel that contains ions and can be decomposed by electrolysis, e.g., that present in a battery.

General Plan

For my experiment I will follow the directions I have written in the step-by-step procedure with different sizes of lemons. I will be doing this at my house in the basement where it is out of the way from my parents and where my pets cannot reach it. I will use a device called a Multimeter to detect the amount of wattage ( in amp) getting sent out. I will use an overflow cup to find the volume of each lemon.

Potential Problems And Solutions

A problem would be the lemon will not light the light bulb. The solution to the first problem would be that I will retry different ways to do it or ask someone who knows. A second problem would be that I cannot stick the electrodes into the lemon. A third problem would be that I cannot connect the copper wire to the light bulb correctly. The solution to the second and third problem would be to look up in a book or using the internet on how to do it safely.

Safety Or Environmental Concerns

One safety concern is that I cannot eat the lemons after used in the experiment because it wouldn't be healthy and possibly poisonous. I will write myself a note and to others so they know not to eat them. After the experiment and science fair I will throw them away. A second safety concern would be that i might get shocked. I will use gloves and be cautious to which parts hold the electricity and can zap you. A third concern would be that a electrical mistake will be made and the experiment might smoke. I will run through a safety guideline to what I will do if that happens. I might do things like tell a parent right away etc.

Experimental Design

Controlled and Manipulated Experiment

What is your experimental unit?

I will be using Cubic Centimeters(cm³) when I use the overflow cup to find the volume of each lemon. I will be using Amperes(amp) to record the amount of electrical output sent out by the lemons.

Number of Trials:

I will try this experiment three times.

Number of Subjects in Each Trial:

There are three subjects per trial.

Number of Observations:

I will take two observations per trial. One for each subject.

When data will be collected:

All data will be collected Sunday, February 24th.

Where will the data be collected?

In the basement of my log home on a black table.

Resources and Budget Table

Item	Number needed	Where I will get this	Cost
Lemons	15	Hannaford	$8.20
Galvanized nails	10	My Neighbor	$0.00
Pennies	4	My Mom	$0.04
Copper wire	2	My Dad	$0.00
1 watt LED light bulb	1	My Mom	$0.00
Multimeter	1	Alex Klementovich	$0.00
Overflow Cup	1	Mr. Littlefield	$0.00
Graduated Cylinder	2	Mr. Littlefield	$0.00
		Total:	$8.24

Detailed Procedure

1. Collect three different sizes of lemons, a galvanized nail which acts as the zinc electrode, a penny that acts as a copper electrode, two copper wires used to transfer the electricity, and a LED light bulb.
2. Go over the safety concerns, problems and solution.
3. Stick the zinc electrode into the lemon. This is now the negative electrode.
4. Stick the copper electrode into the lemon on opposite sides so it does not touch the zinc electrode. This is now the positive electrode.
5. Wrap one end of a copper wire around the nail and one endpenny.
6. Touch both wires (at opposite sides to begin with) to the base of the lightbulb.
7. Record whether or not the lightbulb lit up.
8. Turn the multimeter on and switch it to the first one to the left. Touch the black cord to the nails copper wire and touch the red cord to the pennies copper wire.
9. Record data.
10. Repeat steps 3-9 for each lemon.
11.Do this three times.
12. Average the three records that you get for electrical output for each lemon.
13. In order to measure the volume of lemon, you fill the overfow cup to the top and let it drain until it stops. You have a graduated cylinder or two at the ready to catch each drop of water that the lemon displaces out of the cup and into the cylinder. After the water is done draining record what shows in the cylinder.

Photo List

I am going to take pictures of my experiment once it is set up and the surroundings around the experiment to prove my hard work.

Time Line

Table

Size of Lemon Test 1 Test 2 Test 3
64 cm³ 0.92 amp 0.915 amp 0.925 amp
97 cm³ 0.93 amp 0.935 amp 0.935 amp
174 cm³ 0.935 amp 0.94 amp 0.935 amp

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Data Analysis

All Raw Data

Lemon 1 Lemon 2 Lemon 3
avg. volume= 64 cm³ avg. volume= 97 cm³ avg. volume= 174 cm³
avg. electric output= 0.92 amp avg. electrical output= 0.93 amp avg. electrical output= 0.94 amp
1. 0.92 amp 1. 0.93 amp 1. 0.94 amp
2. 0.915 amp 2. 0.935 amp 2. 0.935 amp
3. 0.925 amp 3. 0.935 amp 3. 0.94 amp
See table above ^

Graphs

Photos

Results

Lemon 1 Lemon 2 Lemon 3
volume= 64 cm³ volume= 97 cm³ volume= 174 cm³
avg. electric output= 0.92 amp avg. electrical output= 0.93 amp avg. electrical output= 0.94 amp

Conclusion

In my experiment, the bigger the lemon, the more electrical output. My first lemon was 64 cm³ and had the electrical output of 0.92 amp. The second lemon which was bigger than the first with the volume of 97 cm³ had the electrical output of 0.93 amp. which is bigger. The third lemon was 174 cm³ and 0.94 amp. The electrical output gradually got bigger as the size of the lemon grew.

Discussion

My data supports my hypothesis because in my hypothesis I said as the lemon went up in size, the electrical output gradually went up in average as well. The contrast between the three data wasn't much but it still went up significantly. Although there is no constant rate between the lemon and the output, it still changes. As the first lemon went up 33 cm³ the output went up 0.1 but it still rose. As the second lemon went up 77 cm³ it rose in output by 0.1 as well. Therefore as the lemons did not go up constantly, the electric output did.

Benefit to Community and/or Science

The benefit of my experiment to science is that, it gives more evidence to an experiment that has been completed multiple times before. I couldn't light a light bulb with the size lemon I had. In order to light a 1 watt light bulb the output would have to be 1.00 or over. I was 0.8, 0.7, 0.6 amp away from lighting the light bulb. This may help someone with their experiment in the future.

Background Research

Energy doesn't come from just burning gasoline, coal, or oil. It can also come from food, or more specifically the chemicals in the food. In this activity I will create a chemical reaction with the acid of a lemon and metal to create energy, enough to power a small light. The lemon battery is made up from two different metals, copper and zinc. Electric current enters and leaves the battery through these points. These electrodes are placed in an electrolyte, the acid from the lemon, which is a solution that can conduct electricity. In fact the lemon itself isn't actually producing the power. A chemical reaction takes place between the acid and the metal which causes electrons, which is what energy is made of, to gather toward the negative end of the electrodes and electrons to be lost on the positive side of the electrodes. A current flows from the negative to positive ends in order to push out the excess electrons and for those electrons to take place of the electrons that were lost in the positive end. This is enough energy to make the LED light, light up. Using other metals and acidic fruits can make differences in how well they create energy.

References

"Lemon Light." Lemon Light. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Mar. 2013.

Contributor, EHow. "How to Make a Lemon Powered Light Bulb." EHow. Demand Media, 02 July 2009. Web. 20 Mar. 2013.

"Lemon Battery." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 18 Mar. 2013. Web. 20 Mar. 2013.

Abstract

Isn't it amazing that lemons can light a LED light bulb? Well it's possible, but extremely challenging! I chose to do this because I was just amazed when I read that a citrus fruit can create a chemical reaction powerful enough to light a bulb! Doesn't it leave you puzzled that a tasty fruit that we can eat has chemicals in it, that react together to create electricity! I took my free time to connect electrodes that you find around the house to three different sizes of lemons and I enjoyed it! Combining Ben Franklin's discovery of electricity, Thomas Edison's invention, and mother nature's lemons, it is possible for one to light a small light bulb with a decent size lemon. Unfortunately, I was unsuccessful in the lighting of the light bulb with the size of lemons I found at my local grocery store.